Elon Musk's X/Twitter Sues Leading Companies Over Advertising Boycott

The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, under the leadership of Elon Musk, has leveled serious allegations against a group of major companies. The lawsuit is directed at the food giants Unilever and Mars, the health company CVS Health, the renewable energy corporation Orsted, as well as the industry association World Federation of Advertisers (WFA). They are accused of unlawfully depriving X of billions of dollars in advertising revenue. The lawsuit pertains to the year 2022, when Musk took over the platform and advertising revenues plummeted dramatically. At that time, some companies hesitated to advertise on the platform due to doubts about Musk's commitment to eliminating harmful online content. Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, emphasized, "People get hurt when the marketplace of ideas is restricted. No small group of people should monopolistically decide what gets monetized." Musk himself also took a combative stance, tweeting, "We tried kindness for two years and got nothing but empty words. Now it's war." The affected companies and the WFA have so far not responded to requests for comment. X alleges that the companies unjustifiably withheld their advertising expenditures by adhering to the safety standards of the WFA initiative Global Alliance for Responsible Media (Garm). Garm aims to support the industry in dealing with illegal or harmful content on digital media platforms and their monetization through advertising. Experts like Bill Baer, who served as Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice under Barack Obama, are skeptical. "A politically motivated boycott generally does not constitute a violation of antitrust laws. It is protected by the free speech clause of our First Amendment," he explained. Professor Rebecca Haw Allensworth from Vanderbilt University also views the boycott as an expression of a stance on X's policies and the brands of the advertising companies, which is protected by the First Amendment. Even if X were successful in court, the platform could not compel companies to purchase ad space again. X demands unspecified damages and a court ruling against continued boycott efforts. The platform emphasizes that it applies safety standards that match or even exceed those of its competitors. Additionally, the boycotting measures have made X a "less effective competitor" in the digital advertising market. On the sidelines, the video-sharing platform Rumble, which is popular among right-wing influencers, has raised similar allegations in a separate lawsuit against the WFA.